I tend to gravitate more towards female singers also. My absolute favorite is Andrea Corr of The Corrs. All three of the Corrs sisters have amazing voices, so when they harmonize it's almost orgasmic.

others include:
Aaliyah
Louise Post & Nina Gordon of Veruca Salt
Shakira
Ann Wilson of Heart
Vanessa Williams

Shirley Manson
Tegan and Sarah
Deborah Harry
Maja Ivarrson (The Sounds)
Jenny Lewis(Rilo Kiley)
Jem
Corin Tucker( Sleater-Kinney)
Terri Nun

Bjork
Beth Gibbons (Portishead)
Beth Orton
Loretta Lynn
Kathleen Hanna
Corrine from Sleater Kinney

I never seem to tire of Ambrosia Parsley (lead singer of Shivaree) or Sarah Bettens (lead singer of K's Choice).

Ok here is my list of the best female singers:
Lisa stansfield (been around the world)
Roberta flack
Madonna
Bjork
Sade
Amel larrieux (the girl from groove theory:tell me song)
Whitney houston ( i miss her )
Anita baker
Dusty springfield
Karolina komstedt (lead singer of club 8)

WELL THAT ALL FOR NOW

BJORK- glad to see her listed so many times
Fiona Apple
Natalie Merchant
Alanis Morissette

Joss Stone - could be worthy in time, very good now
avril lavigne- also with some more time, we'll see

minnie ripperton
esthero
sade

Alannah Myles

Pat Benatar

Patty Smyth - Scandal

Rindy Ross - Quarterflash

Donna Summer

Aretha Franklin

Anita Baker

Sade

Amy Lee - Evanesence

Dolores O'Riordan - The Cranberries

Grace Slick - Starship

Stevie Nicks

Kate Pierson - B-52's

Mariah Carey

Whitney Houston

Annie Lennox

Bonnie Raitt

Ann Wilson

Lita Ford

Joan Jett

Cyndi Lauper

Avril Lavigne

Gwen Stefani

Kelly Clarkson

Leann Rimes

Shania Twain

Tina Turner

Carnie, Wendy and Chynna of Wilson Phillips

Nelly Furtado.

Skye Edwards of Morcheeba, until recently.

(too) many of the ones mentioned already are fav's of mine

.....but......

i'm shocked that Karen Carpenter hasn't been mentioned, she had one truly magnificent voice.

Corin Tucker


Kathleen Hanna


Bjork

I would say Natalie Imbruglia or Shirley Manson.

Agreed - She's got the best voice I've ever heard...

Miranda Lambert is a country singer that I like to listen too once in a while.
Plus she is HOT.

Shirley Manson is one of my favorites.

Shawn Colvin.
Mary Chapin Carpenter.
Carnie Wilson.
Stevie Nicks.
Jewel.

Cristina Scabbia from Lacuna Coil
Lacey Mosley from Flyleaf
Amy Lee of Evanescence

Feist (aviod her latest though)

I'm very surprised Nina Persson of The Cardigans has not (that i noticed) come up yet!!! Admittedly, her voice is not super strong, but it certainly has an excellent quality to it. Listen to Long Gone Before Daylight - it's hard not to be captivated by that album.

Amy Lee - Evanescence
Pat Benatar
Candice Night - Blackmore's Night
Karen Carpenter - The Carpenters

I am pretty partail to the cowboy junkies - i like the voice of the lead singer - Margo Timmins

I also like the haunting vocals of - Eva Cassidy

Dolores O'Riordan
Bjork (again)
Karen Carpenter
Dusty Springfield
Lisa Stansfield
That all for now.

I don't think she's been mentioned, so I'll add Sharleen Spiteri, lead vocalist for the band Texas.

I'm not going to pretend I know who the best is, but some of my favorites are:

Dolores O'Riordan (Cranberries)
Kim Deal (the Breeders)
Linda Perry from 4 Non Blondes kicked ass too


And ditto on all 3 of those.